ASX flattish as earnings results pour in
Breville, Seek dumped, while Temple & Webster was best performer
Strike Energy’s shares collapse after reporting problems at gas field
The ASX 200 closed flattish on Tuesday as traders struggled to get any direction from Wall Street, with China also closing for the whole week.
Major ASX stocks, including Breville and Seek, were dumped today following soft earnings releases – see more below.
At the sector level, the worst performer was Healthcare, down almost -2% after being dragged down once again by giant CSL – also see more below.
RBA’s governor Michelle Bullock gave a warning in her speech this afternoon that the fight against inflation will take some time, and could suck the spending power out from consumers.
“Going forward, we expect economic growth to remain subdued in the near term as inflation and earlier interest rate increases continue to weigh on domestic demand growth, particularly household consumption,” Bullock said.
Meanwhile, the Westpac and the Melbourne Institute, which measures optimism among Australian consumers, increased by 6.2% to reach 86 in February, marking its highest level since June 2022.
Elsewhere, tensions continue in the Red Sea, with missiles being fired again at passing ships. Bitcoin, which topped US$50k overnight, has pulled back to US$49,770 at the time of writing.
BIG CAP WINNERS
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Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap TPW Temple & Webster Ltd 11.02 9.93 1,820,880 $1,231,956,014 CGF Challenger Limited 7.17 8.89 2,393,907 $4,545,924,436 EMR Emerald Res NL 3.20 6.86 2,188,062 $1,871,167,391 CTT Cettire 4.57 6.41 2,775,777 $1,635,511,964 BPT Beach Energy Limited 1.81 5.99 12,497,690 $3,901,080,552 JBH JB Hi-Fi Limited 63.83 5.36 954,361 $6,623,452,569 HSN Hansen Technologies 5.37 5.29 273,508 $1,036,337,279 IEL Idp Education Ltd 20.44 4.13 1,526,872 $5,463,739,822 SQ2 Block 106.14 3.95 97,699 $3,622,342,652 AX1 Accent Group Ltd 2.31 3.83 1,639,550 $1,249,978,095 BGL Bellevue Gold Ltd 1.33 3.71 4,095,508 $1,506,997,569 ERA Energy Resources 0.06 3.64 246,481 $1,218,156,455 RDX Redox Limited 2.42 3.42 75,150 $1,228,690,542 CCP Credit Corp Group 18.91 3.28 156,432 $1,246,304,133 HLS Healius 1.45 3.02 630,580 $1,020,124,195 RRL Regis Resources 2.01 2.82 1,210,423 $1,472,910,676 NIC Nickel Industries 0.65 2.76 5,632,171 $2,721,489,274 BOE Boss Energy Ltd 5.38 2.67 2,486,560 $2,141,338,277 ELD Elders Limited 8.93 2.64 250,866 $1,369,119,244 GMD Genesis Minerals 1.58 2.27 1,293,059 $1,727,541,345
Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) was the best performing large cap today, up 10% after reporting its half year results. Revenue for the half was $254m, up 23% on pcp, driven by growth in repeat and first-time customers. EBITDA was $7.5m with an EBITDA margin of 2.9%, at the top end of full year guidance (1-3%). TPW has now crossed the 1 million active customers milestone for the first time.
Challenger (ASX:CGF) rose after reporting its H1 FY24 results. Statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) was $56 million, up 80% on pcp. Group assets under management (AUM) were $117 billion, up 18% on pcp. Interim dividend was declared at 13.0 cents per share fully franked, up 8% on pcp. Full year FY24 is expected to be in the top half of NPBT guidance range.
BIG CAP LOSERS
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Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap STX Strike Energy Ltd 0.33 -21.43 73,371,170.00 $1,202,134,861 BRG Breville Group Ltd 24.87 -8.97 1,771,371.00 $3,918,380,507 JHX James Hardie Indust 55.11 -6.91 1,365,117.00 $25,792,655,837 SEK Seek Limited 25.66 -4.40 3,552,072.00 $9,560,949,900 CSL CSL Limited 281.13 -3.14 919,249.00 $140,212,986,912 PME Pro Medicus Limited 108.59 -2.48 211,645.00 $11,631,095,317 CDA Codan Limited 8.20 -2.32 105,847.00 $1,521,242,188 ZIM Zimplats Holding Ltd 20.95 -2.24 11,753.00 $2,306,674,818 MGH Maas Group Holdings 4.12 -2.14 289,862.00 $1,380,561,307 CTD Corp Travel Limited 19.47 -2.14 283,095.00 $2,910,419,088 MP1 Megaport Limited 12.75 -1.96 404,904.00 $2,068,622,530 GQG GQG Partners 2.06 -1.90 681,049.00 $6,202,096,853 MTS Metcash Limited 3.67 -1.87 3,563,580.00 $4,015,426,006 ALQ ALS Ltd 12.02 -1.80 285,720.00 $5,926,212,452 WTC Wisetech Global Ltd 76.15 -1.74 155,344.00 $25,840,464,935 REA REA Group 183.26 -1.68 69,443.00 $24,626,649,249 LFG Liberty Fin Group 4.14 -1.66 7,561.00 $1,279,014,305
Strike Energy (ASX:STX) crashed by over -20% after reporting problems at the South Erregulla well testing operations in the Perth Basin. Strike said upon opening the choke, the well failed to flow, but was also observed to be substantially overbalanced. The well was shut-in and a steady increase in tubing head pressure and associated temperature drop was subsequently observed, where bleed offs of pressure/ gas were detected as hydrocarbons. “The SE-3 flow test has not matched its petrophysical interpretation, which is disappointing. Further analysis and data collection is ongoing and Strike is reviewing the potential to return to the well,” said CEO, Stuart Nicholls.
Breville Group (ASX:BRG) crashed after reporting a weak first half. The company posted a 2% revenue growth in H1 against a challenging consumer backdrop. Bottom line NPAT growth was 6.7%, after absorbing higher interest costs. Forecasted inventory and net debt reductions were both delivered. The company also generated an interim dividend of 16c cents per share (100% franked).
Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) warned the market that its FY24 year to date (YTD) NPAT is substantially down on FY23 YTD. This was mainly driven by a decline in itsAsset Management and Banking and Financial Services segments. The bank is predicting a slower full year overall.
CSL (ASX:CSL) reported half year revenue of $8.05 billion, up 11% on pcp. NPAT $1.90 billion, up 17% on pcp. Guidance is reaffirmed – and FY24 NPAT is anticipated to be in the range of approximately $2.9 billion to $3.0 billion.
James Hardie Industries (ASX:JHX) reported Q3 global net sales of US$978.3 million. Net income was a record US$179.9 Million, up 39% on pcp. For the full year FY24, JHX expects adjusted net income to be in the US$165m to US$185m range.
Seek (ASX:SEK) experienced a drop in revenue by 5% in first half, with volume declines in ANZ and Asia resulting in EBITDA falling by 11%. “Although its earnings were bleak, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the online employment marketplace as it completed its unified product and technology platform, marking a significant milestone for the company’s future growth,” said eToro market analyst, Farhan Badami.
The post ASX Large Caps: Seek, Breville dumped on soft results; Strike Energy crashes 23pc appeared first on Stockhead.
